Adjustable butt and reel seat for a fishing rod

ABSTRACT

An adjustable fishing rod butt includes a first elongate member hingeably attached to a second elongate member. The first elongate member includes an opening on a bottom surface thereof extending at least into an interior thereof, and an alignment locking member secured about the opening on the bottom surface thereof. The alignment locking member includes an opening coaxially aligned with the opening in the first elongate member. The second elongate member includes an adjustable reel seat portion on an upper surface, and an angle positioning arm extending from a bottom surface and oriented to be received by the openings in the first elongate member and the alignment locking member. A locking pin locks the angle positioning arm to provide the butt with a specific angular relationship.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates fishing rods and moreparticularly, to an adjustable butt end and reel seat for a fishing rod.

Most conventional fishing rods used for deep sea sport fishing are madeof three primary sections, the rod blank, the handle or butt, and thereel seat. Typically, the rod blank is elongate and defines the distalend of the rod, which is intended to be fitted within the butt. The buttis of a static elongate design and generally includes the reel seat. Theend of the butt is frequently in the form of a gimbal havingintersecting notches, and therefore, the distal end of the butt isspecifically configured to be received within a socket permanently butmovably mounted on a “fighting chair” on a boat, a rod holder on a boat,or even on a “fighting belt” secured to a fisherman. In the sport ofgame fishing, strong forces are often encountered, which forces aretransmitted through the rod to the butt assembly. The butt of thefishing rod typically is non-adjustable and has a curvilinear or linearshape for the particular fishing application. Straight rods aredesirable when a fish are moving away from the rod. On the other hand,bent rods (i.e., curvilinear rods) are preferred when the fish arecircling or moving transverse to the rod, which distributes the forceexerted by the fish and thus enables the angler to use apply increasedforce on the fish.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Disclosed herein is an adjustable butt for use with a fishing reel and arod blank. A non-limiting example of the adjustable butt includes afirst elongate member including an opening on a bottom surface thereofextending at least into an interior of the first elongate member. Analignment locking member is secured about the opening on the bottomsurface thereof and includes an opening coaxially aligned with theopening in the first elongate member. A locking pin opening in sidewallsof the alignment locking member is configured to receive a locking pin.A second elongate member include an adjustable reel seat portion on anupper surface, and an angle positioning arm extending from a bottomsurface and oriented to be received by the openings in the firstelongate member and the alignment locking member. The angle positioningarm includes a plurality of alignment openings serially arranged along alength of the angle positioning arm, wherein each of the plurality ofopenings corresponds to a different angular relationship between thefirst and second elongate members. The locking pin locks the anglepositioning arm and the first and second elongate members at a specificangular relationship defined by a selected one of the openings in theangle positioning arm. A hinge couples the first elongate member to thesecond elongate member.

In another embodiment, a non-limiting example of the adjustable fishingrod butt in accordance with one or more aspects of the present inventionincludes a first elongate member including an opening on a bottomsurface thereof extending at least into an interior of the firstelongate member, and an alignment locking member secured about theopening on the bottom surface thereof. The alignment locking memberincludes an opening coaxially aligned with the opening in the firstelongate member, and a locking pin opening in sidewalls of the alignmentlocking member configured to receive a locking pin. A second elongatemember includes an adjustable reel seat portion on an upper surface, andan angle positioning arm extending from a bottom surface and oriented tobe received by the openings in the first elongate member and thealignment locking member upon articulation of the second elongate memberrelative to the first elongate member. The angle positioning armincludes a plurality of alignment openings serially arranged along atleast a portion of a length of the angle positioning arm, wherein eachof the plurality of openings corresponds to a different angularrelationship between the first and second elongate members. The lockingpin locks the angle positioning arm and the first and second elongatemembers at a specific angular relationship defined by a selected one ofthe openings in the angle positioning arm. A hinge couples the firstelongate member to the second elongate member. The hinge includes au-shaped portion at a terminal end of a selected one of the first or thesecond elongate member and a tongue portion at a terminal end of theother one of the first or the second elongate member. The u-shapedportion and the tongue portion include coaxially aligned openings,wherein the tongue portion is configured to fit within the u-shapedopening portion. A hinge pin is provided in the openings and includes ahead and a shaft extending from the head including a threaded terminalportion. At least one of the openings in the u-shaped portion includes athreaded portion configured to receive the threaded terminal portion ofthe hinge pin.

The disclosure may be understood more readily by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the various features of the disclosureand the examples included therein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Referring now to the figures wherein the like elements are numberedalike:

FIG. 1 illustrates a side perspective view of an adjustable butt andreel seat for a fishing rod in accordance with one or more embodimentsof the present invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side perspective view of the first elongate memberof the adjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a bottom perspective view of the first elongatemember of the adjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 inaccordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a plan view of the alignment locking mechanism of theadjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates a top down view of the alignment locking mechanism ofthe adjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates a pin for use with the alignment locking mechanism ofthe adjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 in accordance with oneor more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a side perspective view of the second elongate memberof the adjustable butt and reel seat shown in FIG. 1 in accordance withone or more embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 illustrates a cross sectional view of an annular hood for usewith reel seat assembly in accordance with one or more embodiments ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 9 illustrates an end on view of an annular hood for use with reelseat assembly disposed in an elongate member in accordance with one ormore embodiments of the present invention.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements shown in the drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale.For example, the dimensions of some of the elements could be exaggeratedrelative to other elements for purpose of clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein is an adjustable butt and reel seat assembly for afishing rod. Depending on the intended fishing application, theadjustable butt can be adjustably configured to provide a curvilinearshape or a linear shape. The angle is adjustable by the adjustable buttand can be utilized to provide a mechanical advantage to the end userduring fishing. For example, when fighting relatively large and powerfulfish, it is sometime advantageous to employ an angled rod, which canvary depending on the conditions and the particular fish. The rodincluding the adjustable butt can be positioned to provide a particularangle prior at hooking the fish and then adjusted to a different angleto fight/land the fish. For example, dredge rods typically tow a bigteaser (dredge) the goes deeper than regular teasers on the top of thewater. When trolling these types of rods have a very heavy weight onthem to kept them down under the surface. The dredge rods can have aheavy electric reel and are often pointed at the outriggers. Sometimesdepending on where the rod holder is mounted there is strain on the tipof the rod so the adjustable butt of the present invention allows theend user to adjust the tip so most the strain is gone off the rod.

The adjustable butt and real seat assembly is formed of a high strengthmaterial, such as steel, although most preferably, a high strength butsubstantially lightweight material such as aluminum can be used. Otheralloys can be employed.

Detailed embodiments of the adjustable butt and reel seat assemblyaccording to aspects of the present invention will now be describedherein. However, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theinvention described herein are merely illustrative of the structuresthat can be embodied in various forms. In addition, each of the examplesgiven in connection with the various embodiments of the invention isintended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Further, the figuresare not necessarily to scale, some features can be exaggerated to showdetails of particular components. Therefore, specific structural andfunctional details described herein are not to be interpreted aslimiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one skilledin the art to variously employ the methods and structures of the presentdescription. For the purposes of the description hereinafter, the terms“upper”, “lower”, “top”, “bottom”, “left,” and “right,” and derivativesthereof shall relate to the described structures, as they are orientedin the drawing figures. The same numbers in the various figures canrefer to the same structural component or part thereof.

As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” preceding an element orcomponent are intended to be nonrestrictive regarding the number ofinstances (i.e. occurrences) of the element or component. Therefore, “a”or “an” should be read to include one or at least one, and the singularword form of the element or component also includes the plural unlessthe number is obviously meant to be singular.

As used herein, the terms “invention” or “present invention” arenon-limiting terms and not intended to refer to any single aspect of theparticular invention but encompass all possible aspects as described inthe specification and the claims.

The following definitions and abbreviations are to be used for theinterpretation of the claims and the specification. As used herein, theterms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” “including,” “has,”“having,” “contains” or “containing,” or any other variation thereof,are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion. For example, acomposition, a mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus thatcomprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to only thoseelements but can include other elements not expressly listed or inherentto such composition, mixture, process, method, article, or apparatus.

As used herein, the term “about” modifying the quantity of aningredient, component, or reactant of the invention employed refers tovariation in the numerical quantity that can occur, for example, throughtypical measuring and liquid handling procedures used for makingconcentrates or solutions. Furthermore, variation can occur frominadvertent error in measuring procedures, differences in themanufacture, source, or purity of the ingredients employed to make thecompositions or carry out the methods, and the like. In one aspect, theterm “about” means within 10% of the reported numerical value. Inanother aspect, the term “about” means within 5% of the reportednumerical value. Yet, in another aspect, the term “about” means within10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, or 1% of the reported numerical value.

It will also be understood that when an element, such as a layer,region, or substrate is referred to as being “on” or “over” anotherelement, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elementscan also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to asbeing “directly on” or “directly over” another element, there are nointervening elements present, and the element is in contact with anotherelement.

Various embodiments of the invention are described herein with referenceto the related drawings. Alternative embodiments of the invention can bedevised without departing from the scope of this invention. Variousconnections and positional relationships (e.g., over, below, adjacent,etc.) are set forth between elements in the following description and inthe drawings. These connections and/or positional relationships, unlessspecified otherwise, can be direct or indirect, and the presentinvention is not intended to be limiting in this respect. Accordingly, acoupling of entities can refer to either a direct or an indirectcoupling, and a positional relationship between entities can be a director indirect positional relationship. Moreover, the various tasks andprocess steps described herein can be incorporated into a morecomprehensive procedure or process having additional steps orfunctionality not described in detail herein.

FIG. 1 is a perspective side view of an adjustable butt and reel seatassembly and is generally indicated by reference numeral 10 inaccordance with one embodiment for use with fishing reel 20 and afishing rod blank 12, which is partially shown. The adjustable butt andreel seat assembly 10 generally includes a first elongate member 14hingeably coupled to a second elongate member 16 by a hinge, generallyshown at 18. The first and second elongate members 14, 16 are generallycylindrical and can be lockingly positioned relative to one another viaa position locking mechanism generally shown at 24. Using the bottomsurface 26 of the second elongate member 16 as a reference, butt angles(Θ) of about 90 to about 180 degrees of the second elongate member 16relative to the first elongate member 14 can be provided with theposition locking mechanism 24 although it should be noted that theparticular angle (or angles) is not intended to be limited. As usedherein, the bottom surface 26, refers to the surface opposite thesurface securing the fishing reel 20, wherein the top surface refers tothe surface securing the fishing reel 20. In various embodiments, theadjustable butt 10 can be configured to provide angles less than 90and/or greater than about 180 degrees depending on the desiredapplication. Moreover, the adjustable butt 10 can be configured toprovide the end user with more than one fixed angle to choose from,i.e., a linear shape and more than one angled shape, as will bedescribed in greater detail below. The first elongate member 14 mayoptionally include a gimbal end 22 to be received within a socket (alsoreferred to as a gimbal nock, not shown) and may be movably mounted on afighting chair on a boat, the boat itself, or even on a fighting beltsecured to a fisherman. Optionally, the gimbal end 22 may be provided inthe form a separate detachable component that is secured to the firstelongate member 14 by any suitable means, e.g., press fit, screw fit,and the like or may be machined therewith the first elongate member 14.

As shown more clearly in the side and bottom views of FIGS. 2-3,respectively, the first elongate member 14 includes a portion 30proximal to hinge 18 and a distal portion 32. The gimbal end 22 is atterminal end of the distal portion 32. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3,the proximal portion 30 generally includes a U-shaped portion includingsupport members 34, 36 extending from a body portion 33 (FIG. 2) of thefirst elongate member 14. The body portion 33 can include channels 35tapered from one end to another end along the longitudinal axis of thefirst elongate member 14. The channels 35 provide an end user withincreased grip of the adjustable butt 10 when in use and are providedabout the periphery of the first elongate member 14.

The support members 34, 36 are spaced apart by an opening 38 extendingbetween the top surface 40 to the bottom surface 42 (see FIG. 2). Theproximal portion 30 further includes an opening 44 extending through aside of a selected one of the support members, e.g., support member 34.The opening 44 can include a bushing 46 provided in a recess about theopening 44 and is generally dimensioned to accommodate a hinge pin 60extending therethrough as will be discussed in greater detail below. Theopposing support member, e.g., support member 36, includes a threadedopening 52 coaxially aligned with the opening 44 and configured tothreadingly receive a threaded portion of the hinge pin 60. By way ofexample and as shown, the opposing support member 36 can include amember 48 including the threaded opening 52 in a recessed portion 50 ofthe first elongate member 14. Member 48 can be press fit into therecessed portion 50.

The hinge pin 60 includes a head 62 and an elongated shaft 64 extendingfrom the head 62. The shaft 64 includes a threaded portion 66 at about aterminal end thereof, which is configured to be threadingly received bythe threaded portion of threaded opening 52. In this manner, the secondelongate member 16 can be hingeably coupled to the first elongate member14 using the hinge pin 60 during use.

The first elongate member 14 further includes an opening 70 extendinginteriorly from a bottom surface 42 thereof. In various embodiments, theopening 70 may extend from the bottom surface 42 to the top surface 44depending on the angular movement range provided by the adjustable butt10. An alignment locking member 72 is secured about the opening 70 onthe bottom surface 42 thereof. The alignment locking member 72 can beseated within a recess 74 in the bottom surface 42 and fixedly andsecurely attached to the first elongate member 14. The alignment lockingmember 72 includes an opening 76 coaxially aligned with opening 70 inthe first elongate member 14. Additionally, the alignment locking member72 includes opening 78 extending from one side to an opposing side.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-6, the alignment locking member 72 will bedescribed in greater detail. As shown in FIG. 4, a selected one of theopenings 78 in the side of the alignment locking member 72 includes apin 80 partly extending into an interior space of the opening 78. Thepin 80 is dimensioned to slideably engage a channel 92 on a locking pin90 (see FIG. 6), which generally includes a head 94 and a shaft 96extending from the head 94. The channel 92 longitudinally extends alonga length of the shaft 96, wherein one end of the channel 92 terminatesproximate to the terminal end of the shaft 96 and another end thatterminates proximate the head 94. Proximate to the head 94, the channel92 is at about less than a right angle relative to the longitudinal axisof the shaft 96 for a relatively short distance of the circumference todefine a detent position 98. An elastic o-ring 100 can be provided onthe shaft 96 to provide enough resistive force to rotation of thelocking pin 90 when in the detent position. In this manner, when engagedwith the pin 80 extending into the interior space of opening 78, thehead 94 can be rotated to engage the pin 80 with the channel detentposition 98 so as to effectively lock the pin 90 at a fixed position.When not in the detent position, the locking pin 90 can be slideablymoved long the longitudinal axis of the shaft 96 such that the shaft 96can be positioned to clear the opening 76 and permit disassembly orassembly of the first and second elongate members 14, 16, respectively.In this manner, an angle positioning arm 110 (see FIG. 7 and the relateddescription) on the second elongate member 16 can be moved to a desiredposition and subsequently locked at a desired angle by moving thelocking pin 90 to the detent position 98. The angle positioning arm 110is utilized to define the desired fixed angle of the adjustable butt 10during use, which can be linear or curvilinear.

FIG. 7 provides a perspective side view of the second elongate member16, which includes the reel seat assembly for a reel 20 on a top surface112 thereof, the angle positioning arm 110 extending from the bottomsurface 114 thereof, and a tongue 200 at an end of the second elongatemember 16 and proximate to the hinge 18. The tongue 200 is configured toengage the opening 38 of the first elongate member 14. An opening 202 isprovided in the tongue 200 and can include a bushing 204 therein. Thetongue 200 can further include a circular recess spaced apart from andcircumscribing the opening to accommodate an o-ring therein. The opening202 has a dimension similar to that of the opening 44 in the firstelongate member 16 such that when the tongue 200 of the second elongatemember 16 is inserted into the opening 38 of the u-shaped portion of thefirst elongate member 14, the openings 44, 202 can be coaxially alignedand the hinge pin 60 inserted therethrough to hingeably couple the firstelongate member 14 to the second elongate member 16.

The reel seat assembly includes a first annular hood 130 and a secondannular hood 132. The first annular hood 130 is rotatably disposed aboutthe second elongate member 16 and is proximate to the hinge 18. Thesecond annular hood 132 is moveable along the longitudinal axis of thesecond elongate member 16 so as to permit some adjustment so as to seatvariously sized fishing reels. To secure the fishing reel 20 in the reelseat assembly at a fixed position, second elongate member 16 includes apin 134 abutting a shoulder 136 of the second elongate member 16 andconfigured to engage a complementary recessed portion 138 in firstannular hood 130 as shown more clearly in FIG. 9.

In this manner, the first annular hood 130 is rotatably locked in afixed position about the second elongate member 16 when engaged with pin134, thereby providing secure and proper placement of the reel 20 on thesecond elongate member 16 as well as preventing rotation of the reel 20during use. An exterior threaded zone 140 is formed at the other end ofthe second elongate member 16 and is configured to movably engage thesecond annular hood 142 with a second reel tongue 21 of the fishing reel20 so as to securely retain the fishing reel at a fixed position withinthe reel seat assembly. The interior of the second elongate member 14 atthe threaded zone 140 is hollow and is configured to receive the rodblank 12 (shown in FIG. 1). The first and second annular hoods 130 and132 include recessed portions 42 (shown in silhouette in FIG. 1)configured to receive the first and second reel tongues 21 of the reel20. The second annular hood 132 is optionally coupled to a nut 142,wherein the nut 142 provides for threaded engagement with threads in thethreaded zone 140 so as to retain the fishing reel when tightened. Inone embodiment, nut 142 is a collet nut and is rotatably coupled andabuts the second annular hood 132.

FIGS. 8 and 9 provide sectional and end-on views of the first annularhood 130. As shown, one end 152 of the first annular hood 130 includes arecessed portion 138 configured to receive the pin 134 of the secondelongate member 16. Another end 154 includes at least one recessedportion 156 for receiving a reel tongue 21. By engaging the pin 134 inthe manner shown, the reel 20 is always seated in the same location onthe second elongate member 16 (i.e., on a top surface) since thepresence of the pin 134, when engaged, prevents rotation of the firstannular hood 130. For some embodiments, recessed portion 156 is tapered.The second annular hood 132 includes a similarly shaped recessed portionconfigured for receiving the second reel tongue 21.

During use, pin 134 is aligned with the recessed portion 138 of thefirst annular hood 130 to rotatably lock the hood at a fixed position.One of the reel tongues 21 is then inserted into the recessed portion156 of first annular hood 130 such that the hood 130 is abutting the pinand the shoulder, wherein further lateral movement against the pin isprevented. The second annular hood 132, which is optionally coupled tonut 142, is then movably positioned to engage the other reel tongue 21with the recessed portion (not shown) of the second annular hood 132,thereby retaining reel 20 within the reel seat assembly. The nut servesto bias the second annular hood 132 so as to retain or release a reel 20disposed within the reel seat assembly.

Referring to FIG. 7, the angle positioning arm 110 is proximate to thetongue 200 of the second elongate member 16 and is defined by an arcuateshape extending from on a bottom surface of the second elongate member16. The angle positioning arm 110 is configured to slideably engage theopening 76 in the alignment locking member 72 and the opening 70 in thefirst elongate member. The angle positioning arm 110 includes aplurality of openings, wherein locking pin 90 is configured to lockingengage the angle positioning arm 110 when in use such that insertion ofthe locking pin and rotation to the detent portion in a selected one ofthe openings provides a specific angular relation between the first andsecond elongate members 14, 16, respectfully, as is generally shown inFIG. 1.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to make and use the invention. The patentable scope of the inventionis defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur tothose skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be withinthe scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do notdiffer from the literal language of the claims, or if they includeequivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from theliteral languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable fishing rod butt for use with afishing reel and a rod blank, comprising: a first elongate membercomprising an opening on a bottom surface thereof extending at leastinto an interior of the first elongate member, and an alignment lockingmember secured about the opening on the bottom surface thereof, whereinthe alignment locking member comprises an opening coaxially aligned withthe opening in the first elongate member, and a locking pin opening insidewalls of the alignment locking member configured to receive alocking pin; a second elongate member comprising an adjustable reel seatportion on an upper surface, and an angle positioning arm extending froma bottom surface and oriented to be received by the openings in thefirst elongate member and the alignment locking member, wherein theangle positioning arm comprises a plurality of alignment openingsserially arranged along a length of the angle positioning arm, whereineach of the plurality of openings corresponds to a different angularrelationship between the first and second elongate members, and whereinthe locking pin locks the angle positioning arm and the first and secondelongate members at a specific angular relationship defined by aselected one of the openings in the angle positioning arm; and a hingecoupling the first elongate member to the second elongate member.
 2. Theadjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1, wherein the adjustable reel seatportion comprises a first annular hood proximate to the hinge, a secondannular hood in spaced relationship to the first annular hood, and a nutabutting the second annular hood in threaded engagement with the firstelongate member and configured to movably position the second annularhood relative to the first annular hood so as to retain a fishing reelbetween the first and second annular hoods, wherein the first and secondannular hoods comprise at least one recessed portion configured toreceive a fishing reel tongue of the fishing reel.
 3. The adjustablefishing rod butt of claim 2, wherein the adjustable reel seat portionfurther comprises a pin extending from the upper surface of the secondelongate member, and wherein the first annular hood comprises a recessconfigured to receive the pin and prevent rotation of the first annularhood.
 4. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1, wherein the firstelongate member comprises a gimbal at an end thereof.
 5. The adjustablefishing rod butt of claim 1, wherein the first and second elongatemembers are formed of aluminum.
 6. The adjustable fishing rod butt ofclaim 2, wherein the nut is a collet nut and is coupled to the secondannular hood.
 7. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1, wherein thehinge comprises a u-shaped portion at a terminal end of a selected oneof the first or the second elongate member and a tongue portion at aterminal end of the other one of the first or second elongate member,the u-shaped portion and the tongue portion comprising coaxially alignedopenings, wherein the tongue portion is configured to fit within theu-shaped opening portion; and a hinge pin in the openings including ahead and a shaft extending from the head including a threaded terminalportion, wherein at least one of the openings in the u-shaped portionincludes a threaded portion configured to receive the threaded terminalportion of the hinge pin.
 8. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1,wherein the opening on a bottom surface of the first elongate memberextends through the first elongate member from the bottom surface to anupper surface thereof.
 9. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1,wherein the locking pin comprises a head portion and a shaft portionextending from the head portion, a linear channel extending along alongitudinal length of the shaft terminating at a detent positioningproximate to the head portion, and a resilient o-ring intermediate thehead portion and the shaft.
 10. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim1, wherein the second elongate member comprises an open end forreceiving a rod blank.
 11. An adjustable fishing rod butt for use with afishing reel and a rod blank, comprising: a first elongate membercomprising an opening on a bottom surface thereof extending at leastinto an interior of the first elongate member, and an alignment lockingmember secured about the opening on the bottom surface thereof, whereinthe alignment locking member comprises an opening coaxially aligned withthe opening in the first elongate member, and a locking pin opening insidewalls of the alignment locking member configured to receive alocking pin; a second elongate member comprising an adjustable reel seatportion on an upper surface, and an angle positioning arm extending froma bottom surface and oriented to be received by the openings in thefirst elongate member and the alignment locking member upon articulationof the second elongate member relative to the first elongate member,wherein the angle positioning arm comprises a plurality of alignmentopenings serially arranged along at least a portion of a length of theangle positioning arm, wherein each of the plurality of openingscorresponds to a different angular relationship between the first andsecond elongate members, and wherein the locking pin locks the anglepositioning arm and the first and second elongate members at a specificangular relationship defined by a selected one of the openings in theangle positioning arm; and a hinge coupling the first elongate member tothe second elongate member, wherein the hinge comprises a u-shapedportion at a terminal end of a selected one of the first or the secondelongate member and a tongue portion at a terminal end of the other oneof the first or the second elongate member, the u-shaped portion and thetongue portion comprising coaxially aligned openings, wherein the tongueportion is configured to fit within the u-shaped opening portion; and ahinge pin in the openings including a head and a shaft extending fromthe head including a threaded terminal portion, wherein at least one ofthe openings in the u-shaped portion includes a threaded portionconfigured to receive the threaded terminal portion of the hinge pin.12. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 11, wherein the coaxiallyaligned openings in the u-shaped portion and the tongue portion comprisebushings therein.
 13. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 1,wherein the tongue portion further comprises a recessed portion on eachside of the tongue portion circumscribing the opening, and an o-ringtherein.
 14. The adjustable fishing rod butt of claim 11, wherein thefirst elongate member comprises a gimbal at an end thereof.
 15. Theadjustable fishing rod butt of claim 11, wherein the first and secondelongate members are formed of aluminum.
 16. The adjustable fishing rodbutt of claim 11, wherein the adjustable reel seat portion comprises afirst annular hood proximate to the hinge, a second annular hood inspaced relationship to the first annular hood, and a nut abutting thesecond annular hood in threaded engagement with the first elongatemember and configured to movably position the second annular hoodrelative to the first annular hood so as to retain a fishing reelbetween the first and second annular hoods, wherein the first and secondannular hoods comprise at least one recessed portion configured toreceive a fishing reel tongue of the fishing reel.
 17. The adjustablefishing rod butt of claim 16, wherein the nut is a collet nut and iscoupled to the second annular hood.
 18. The adjustable fishing rod buttof claim 11, wherein the opening on a bottom surface of the firstelongate member extends through the first elongate member from thebottom surface to an upper surface thereof.
 19. The adjustable fishingrod butt of claim 11, wherein the locking pin comprises a head portionand a shaft portion extending from the head portion, a linear channelextending along a longitudinal length of the shaft portion terminatingat a detent position proximate to the head portion, and a resiliento-ring intermediate the head portion and the shaft.
 20. The adjustablefishing rod butt of claim 1, wherein the second elongate membercomprises an open end for receiving a rod blank.